A good day for Portmarknock.
by John
The odious and illegitmate “Equality Authority” has lost.
Look, nobody, least of all me, is in favour of actively discriminating against women. However, this case is not about discrimination. It’s about the right to free assocation, and the right of individual groups to set their own entrance policy. The women golfers of Portmarknock are more than entitled to set up their own female-only club, and to bar men altogether, just as Curves are entitled to provide women-only gyms.
The problem with having an “Equality Authority” in a society as broadly equal as ours is that it leads to this kind of thing. Equality keeps getting redefined to an increasingly unreasonable standard, as the authority seeks something to do to justify it’s objectionable existence. Women in Ireland are not harmed or disadvantaged because a bunch of old toffs in Portmarknock prefer to have their committee meetings in a male-only environment. The cause of “equality” in general is harmed, on the other hand, when private groups are forced to accept individuals who they resent and would rather not have in their presence.
The fact that a state funded body would spend money taking on a private club in this manner is more than sad. What societal damage did they identify that justified a six-year pursuit of Portmarknock through the courts? Were women waking up every morning with an aching sense of despair at their exclusion from a posh north county boys club? Has this been a burning societal controversy on the radiowaves and newpaper pages of the nation? Is our country being boycotted by international sporting organisations because we tolerate such bigotry?
Of course not. This is a state funded attempt to pursue an ideological agenda to sweep away the last vestiges of what Portmarknock’s opponents see as an aristocratic, and patrician Ireland. It’s modernisation by force, and for the sake of modernisation. It serves no useful purpose.
Comments
Must say I could never really understand why so many people really cared. The sort of pursuit sends out a message that debases and trivialise’s the pursuit of gender equality. There are areas that the EA could be looking into in terms of gender disrimination, lack of women on state board, under representation of women senior grade civil servants etc. But no instead of challenging established norms that might upset those paying the bills, they go after a golf club. WTF!
Surely, someone such as yourself is the embodiment of last vestitude of an aristocratic and patrician Ireland. Indeed it is such odious and illegitmate frauds private clubs strive to protect themselves from rather than civilised lady members?